“FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION”

SUBMISSION IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE COURSE TITLED ORGANISATION

BEHAVIOUR FOR OBTAINING THE DEGREE B.B.A., LL.B. (HONS.) DURING THE
ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-20

SUBMITTED BY: -
Aridaman Raghuvanshi
Roll No.: 2013
3rd Semester

SUBMITTED TO: -
Teacher Associate

Miss Kirti

SEPTEMBER, 2019

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

NYAYA NAGAR, MITHAPUR, PATNA - 800001
FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION

DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE

I, ARIDAMAN RAGHUVANSHI, student of Chanakya National Law University

hereby declare that the work reported in the B.B.A.LL.B. (HONS.) Project report
entitled: FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION submitted at Chanakya National
Law University, Patna is an authentic record of my work carried out under the
supervision of Miss Kirti. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other
degree or diploma. I am responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

(Signature of the Candidate)

NAME: Aridaman Raghuwanshi

ROLL NO: 2013

COURSE: B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.)

SEMESTER: 2019-2020 (3rd).

SESSION: 2018-2023.

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FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my faculty Miss Kirti whose guidance helped me a lot with
structuring of my project. I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of
gratitude for his guidance and encouragement which sustained my efforts on all
stages of this project.

I owe the present accomplishment of my project to my friends, who helped me

immensely with materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t
have completed it in the present way.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my parents and all those unseen hands
that helped me out at every stage of my project.

THANK YOU

NAME: Aridaman Raghuvanshi

ROLL NO: 2013

COURSE: B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.)

SEMESTER: 2019-2020 (3rd)

SESSION: 2018-2023

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FACTORS AFFECTING PERCEPTION

Contents
DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE ........................................................................................ 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................... 3
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 5
2. Customer Perception and service quality............................................................................... 7
2. I The Role of Perception ................................................................................................... 8
2. II Using Customer Perception to Your Advantage ........................................................... 9
2. III Service Quality.............................................................................................................. 9
3. FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF A BRAND .................... 11
3. I Conceptual Domain Of Consumers –Based Brand Equity........................................... 12
3. II How Brand Awareness Affects Perception .................................................................. 14
3. III The Stages Of Perception In Marketing...................................................................... 15
3. IV Perception Methods In Marketing .............................................................................. 16
3. V Consumer Perception Theory....................................................................................... 18
4. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 21

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1. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, services are increasingly important to the economy, because service industry has
grown significantly and the working populations in the service industry have increased steadily
worldwide. Based on theoretical perspective, the quality has become an important factor in
promoting the service industry and has contributed significantly to the position of the market.
Service quality in various service activities has gain a lot of attention from researches and
practitioners. The origins of numerous instruments measuring service quality can be traced
back the pioneering work of Parasuraman (1988) who developed the widely popular scale
termed as SERVQUAL to evaluate service quality which contains tangible. Another study
regarding intangible dimensions is1 which became an alternative or additional
conceptualization of consumer reactions to services. Even though combination of SERVQUAL
and FAIRSERV consider tangible and intangible dimensions of service quality, there is a
possibility of addition or reduction of the element for specific case of service industry at
specific location. This research tries to find appropriate dimensions of service quality using
SERVQUAL and FAIRSERV as a basis in which service quality is measured using cases of
beauty salon.

In biology, perception refers to the senses that any organism uses to collect information about
its environment. Wade &Travis (1987) note that the senses corresponding to the human sense
organs have been categorised at least since Aristotle's time as: vision (our eyes), hearing (our
ears), taste (our tongues), touch (our skin) and smell (our noses). Walters & Bergiel (1989)
continue the biological viewpoint by explaining that according to the modem outlook, our sense
of smell and taste are our olfactory senses due to the fact that our senses of smell and taste are
so closely entwined. They continue by stating that humans also perceive in a kinaesthetic mode
(using muscles and joints) and in a vestibular mode (through our internal organs). In consumer
behaviour, however, perception refers to much more than just the biological use of our sense
organs. It includes the way stimuli are interacted and integrated by the consumer.

Although there are numerous definitions in literature explaining perception from a consumer
behaviour perspective, the one used by Walters et al (1989, p. 333) provides particular clarity
on the topic:

1
FAIRSERV (Carr, Christopher L, 2007).

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"The entire process by which an individual becomes aware of the environment and interprets
it so that it will fit into his or her frame of reference."

Walters et al (1989) expand on the definition by stating that every perception involves a person
who interprets through the senses something, event, or relation which may be designated as the
percept. Van der Walt (1991) adds that perception occurs when sensory receptors receive
stimuli via the brain, code and categorise them and assign certain meanings to them, depending
on the person's frame of reference.

A person's frame of reference consists of his previous held experiences, beliefs, likes, dislikes,
prejudices, feelings and other psychological reactions of unknown origin. From the discussion
it is eminent that the perception process has long been recognised as the most significant barrier
to effective communication. It is at this point that the sender does or does not get through to
the receiver.2 Since correct decoding of marketing information hinges on the consumer's
perception of the communication content.3 A problem though with perception and related
studies (Schiffman et ai, 1991) is that two individuals may be subject to the same stimuli under
apparently the same conditions, but how they recognise, select, organise and interpret them is
a highly individual process based on each person's own needs, values, expectations.

Individuals furthermore act and react on the basis of their perceptions, not on the basis of
objective reality. With this in mind (Schiffman et ai, 1991), it is important that marketers
understand the whole notion of perception and its related concepts so that they can more readily
determine what influences consumers to buy. The perception process is also complicated due
to the possibility that individuals may be stimulated below their level of conscious awareness
(known as subliminal perception), ie they can perceive stimuli without being consciously aware
of the stimuli in question. Individuals also experience a certain amount of risk when making a
purchasing decision and have a limited capacity to process a\l the different stimuli directed at
them. This leads to a selective perception process where individuals will expose themselves
selectively to marketing stimuli, pay selective attention to these stimuli and then interpret it to
conform to previous held beliefs and attitudes. Only messages conforming to held beliefs will
be retained.

2
(Aaker et ai, 1987).
3
(Van der Walt, 1991).

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2. CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND SERVICE QUALITY

The Business Dictionary defines consumer perception as a “marketing concept that
encompasses a customer’s impression, awareness or consciousness about a company or its
offerings. Typically, customer perception is affected by advertising, reviews, public relations,
social media, personal experiences, and other channels.”

The truth is that everything affects customer perception, from the way you position your
product vertically and horizontally on a shelf, to the colours and shapes you use in creating
your logo. Even things outside of your control, which may seem innocuous, such as the time
of the day when your customer interacts with your brand - even this will affect consumer
perception. Your customers might have a positive perception of you if they come across your
products and your niche during a certain time of the day, but they may hold a negative
perception at another time of day. This dual perception might not have anything to do with you;
some people are not morning people, and the worst time to try to sell 'not-morning' people is
in the morning hours, especially before they’ve had breakfast and coffee. You would do better
to catch them right after dinner, when they’re relaxed. Other people simply can’t concentrate
on anything in the evening, and would rather that you had caught their attention in the morning.
Others are somewhere in between, preferring that you reach them during the main part of the
day. So, as you can see, something as harmless as calling at the wrong hour or showing a
potential customer the right color at the wrong time and at the wrong place, might reward you
with a significant number of customers in at one time of day but a disappointing result at a
different time of day.

Customers‟ perception of service quality have been studied by many scholars and practitioners
who have shown that they are positively related to satisfaction. There are two key schools of
thought about customer perception. Looking at the point of view of European researchers,
Grönroos (1984) and Lehtinen & Lehtinen (1982) stated that customer expectation is an
element that affects customers‟ perception of service quality and that the perception of service
quality is antecedent of satisfaction. In contrast, customer perception can also be used to reflect
upon the whole service quality of an industry. Service organizations therefore, need to be
concerned about customers‟ expectations and how they perceive the actual value of
organizations so that product and promotion strategies can be aligned more efficiently.
4
Expectations reflect customers‟ needs, and if their needs are well satisfied, then their

4
(Zeithaml, 1988; Truong, et al., 2017).

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perception of the service quality will be more positive and vice versa. When participating in a
service organization, customers‟ perception may be influenced not only by the nature of the
product and its physical attributes but also by the attributes of the service-delivery process5. If
a company understands the perception of customers in regard to the product or service they
offer, the company would be in a better position to gain knowledge about how the customer
views the product or service. It is known that there are various ways which can influence
customer perception which is usually through advertising, public relation, loyalty schemes and
other media.6

2. I THE ROLE OF PERCEPTION

The idea of perception theory is often capitalized by haunted houses and amusement parks. The
visitors are forced to walk into a dark are, which is pretty small and claustrophobic. Visitors
are led to a panoply of attractions that look and sound like monsters, rodents, and so on. All
this to overwhelm our senses. The idea is to stimulate an adrenaline rush, which would then
surge through the patrons as they are forced to face their fears. The people who enjoy these
things usually love the idea of conquering their fears, and they often find this experience
exhilarating. However, this can be turned on its head. If you're in the wrong neighbourhood,
attractions in a haunted house could easily attract customers to a haunted house but could easily
chase customers away from your storefront.

As a business owner, you want to maximize the amount of time that customers spend in your
store. You want them to purchase an item on a whim, and to then go on a spree of impulse
buying. You want them to browse your shelves, and walk through your aisles, discovering and
exploring with each step. Whether your store is a brick-and-mortar store or an online store, you
want them to browse and buy, so that you increase your sales.

As a business owner, you should seek to improve their experience and give them the right
perception, no matter what.

5
(Parasuraman, et al., 1990; Bolton & Drew, 1991).
6
(Watson & Hill, 2015).

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2. II USING CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

So to get customer perception right, you should look into what turns your consumers on, so to
speak, and then to use it to your advantage when you want to attract them. If you wish to attract
high-end customers, then make a play on such things as quality, cleanliness and hygiene,
lighting, packaging, and general details in the way you present your products and services.
Segment your customers into the different consumer groups they fall into, and use these groups
to figure what is important to each group and what to show to different categories of customers.

When you make an effort to improve consumer perception of your products, your bottom line
will quickly reflect your hard-won effort. You will also make your customers and your
community feel as if they are part of your family - and there is no better recipe for brand loyalty
than family.

2. III SERVICE QUALITY

Service quality is considered to be a key factor in service sector performance, that is,
profitability. Service quality not only entices new customers away from competitive firms but
also induces customers‟ repurchase intentions.7 Previous research has indicated that service
quality has been increasingly recognized as a critical factor in the success of any business. 8 In
service organizations, they must facilitate the customer with their consistent and best service
qualities that can make them at the top in the competition of services provided. The point to
keep in mind while in competition is to provide customers with their consistent and best
products, loyalty of customers with brand and mitigating cost (Ahmed, 2014). According to
Wu, et al. (2014), both perceptions and expectations need to be measured in order to evaluate
service quality. Mauri, et al. (2013) define service quality as “a multidimensional concept,
assessed and perceived by consumers, according to a set of essential parts, grouped in five
categories, namely: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy”. Rauch, et
al., (2015) indicate that the concept of service quality was initially used as part of a framework
of marketing strategies, by making customers the focal point. This strategy became popular
after a growing concern with quality assurance. Moreover, Lin (2007) pointed out that good
service quality will indeed satisfy the diversified demands of the customer, which means
customer satisfaction is the overall assessment of products and services processed by customers

7
(Venetis & Ghauri, 2002; Wantara, 2015).
8
(Parasuraman, et al., 1988).

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according to the past experience. When the actual service result provided by the service
provider is higher than the customer service expectation, then the customer will be very
satisfied; if it is to the contrary, the customer will be very dissatisfied (Joewono & Kubota,
2007). According to Gera (2011), service quality was found to significantly impact on customer
satisfaction and value perceptions. Companies that have goods and services that are perceived
as being of high quality typically have greater market share, higher return on investment, and
higher asset turnover than firms which have goods and services perceived as being of low
quality (Kim, et al., 2004). Thus, poor-quality service produces customer dissatisfaction, and
customers may not return to the establishment in the future or even immediately move their
business dealings to other providers.9

9
(Prentice, 2013; Cheng & Rashid, 2013).

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3. FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF A

BRAND
Factors Influencing Brand Perceptions (Source: The Chartered Institute of Marketing) Kotler
(2005) says that perception is a process through which information is received, selected,
organised and interpreted by an individual. Factors that influence consumer perceptions of a
brand are:

 Quality

This is one of the factors which consumers take into account when making their choice of
brand. According to Uggla (2001), an integrals part of brand identity is quality.

 Price

According to McDonald and Sharp (2000) price can be used for brand choice in two ways:
either by going for the lowest price to escape financial risk or by going for the highest price to
achieve product quality.

 Influence by others

The advices of other people have a strong effect on consumers buying behaviour. However,
the degree of such affect depends on the situation or individual. Later adapters tend to be more
influenced than early adapters. Marketers cannot sharpen the influence by others. For example,
a consumer wants to buy MacLean, while in the shop he or she comes in contact with a friend
who says Colgate makes my teeth brighter and whiter. The consumer can be forced to buy
Colgate.

 Advertising

The aim of advertisement is to create awareness. Advertisement is a conspicuous form of

communication. According to Aaker (2000), to make a brand strong we need to have
advertising, promotion and packaging to embrace regular positioning strategy over a period of
time. Some ways of reaching and communicating with the consumers is with the help of
advertising through television, cinema, radio, bill board etc.

 Packaging

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The process of designing the cover of a brand/product is called packaging. According to Kotler
et al (2000), packaging is a type of advertisement that sales duties such as attracting consumers,
describing and selling the product.

 Convenience

According to Lin and Chang (2003) on consumer and easy access to brand/product in store
when buying low involvement product convenience of a brand has a significant effect.

3. I CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN OF CONSUMERS –BASED BRAND EQUITY

Brand awareness

The degree of consumers’ familiarity with a brand is referred as Brand awareness. Aaker (2000)
and Keller (2002) said that a vital element of brand equity is brand awareness. According to
Rossiter and Percy (2000), to distinguish a brand amongst other brand is the ability of
consumers. Keller (2002) said that brand awareness comprises of brand recall and brand
recognition. He also said that when the product class is made known brand recall is the ability
of consumers to remember a brand from their mind. Keller (2002) said that “brand recognition
may be more important to the extent that product decisions are made in the store”. According
to Rossiter et al (2000) brand attitude and intention to purchase a product can only be developed
through brand awareness. Aaker (2000) said that there are three levels of brand awareness: o
Brand recognition which is the ability of consumers to identify a certain brand amongst others
i.e. “aided recall”. Aided recall is a situation whereby a person is asked from a list of brands
from the same product class to identify a recognized brand name.

 Brand recall is a situation wherein in a product class a consumer is expected to name a

brand. As they are not given any clue from the product class it is also referred to as
“unaided recall”.
 Top of mind is amongst a given class of product the first brand that a consumer can
recall. Brand awareness in consumer’s choice of brand plays a vital role as an element.
Lin and Chang (2003) say that the result of their study established that on consumers
purchase decision the most powerful influence is brand awareness. Hoye and brown as
cited by Lin and Chang (2003) their study examined the importance of brand awareness
in consumers decision making process and they found out that brand awareness was a
primary factor. Also Jiang (2004) found out in his study that consumer’s choice is

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influenced by brand recognition. Brand awareness is conceptualized as consisting of

brand recognition and top of mind.

Brand image

Engel Blackwell and Miniard (2002) referred to brand image as the combined effect of brand
association or consumers perception of the “brands tangible and intangible association”. Keller
(2002) see brand images a perception or association consumers form as a result of their memory
concerning a product. According to Low and Lamb (2000), brand image is emotional
perception or reason that consumers place to a particular brand. Therefore, brand image is
sometimes brought out by advertisement, promotion or users, it does not exist in the features,
technology or the actual product itself. Brand image enables a consumer to recognize a product,
lower his purchase related risks, evaluate its quality and derive certain experience and
satisfaction from product differentiation. Krishnan says that brands with high brand equity are
prone to more positive brand associations as compared to those with low brand equity.
Researchers have proposed that brand equity is to an extent driven by the brand association
composition of the image.

According to Keller (2002), favorable, unique and strong associations are assumed to provide
a positive brand image which will create a bias in the mind of consumers which in turn will
increase the brand equity.

 Perceived quality

Low and Lamb Jr (2000) said that perceived quality is the perception of the superiority
of a brand when compared to alternative brand. Zeithamal (2003) defined perceived
quality to be consumer’s judgment about the whole product superiority or excellence.
Like brand association, perceived quality provide consumers with value and give them
reason to differentiate a brand from another. Justified by Researchers such as Carman,
Parasuraman et al (2003), perceived quality is said to have a positive effect on
customers purchase intention. In Cronin and Taylor (2003) as cited by Juan Carlos et
al (2001) direct effect was not significant whereas there was an indirect effect which
rose from satisfaction. Taylor and Baker (2004) speculated that perceived quality liked
with satisfaction has an effect on consumers purchase intention. Therefore, perceived
quality can be said to be consumer’s perception of the superiority of a brand which
enables them to differentiate a brand from another.

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 Brand loyalty

Odin et al (2001) stated that brand loyalty can either be behavioral or attitudinal.
Behavioral loyalty comprises of repeated purchases of the brand. According to
Dekimpe et al, one advantage of this is that it measures observable behaviours rather
than self-reported deposition or intention. It is easier and cheaper to measure.
According to Chaudhuri and Holbrooks (2001), attitudinal loyalty can be referred to as
the extent of dispositional promises with respect to some particular advantages
connected with the brand while behavioral loyalty has to do with the intention to repeat
a purchase. As shown in purchase choice the definition of behavioral brand loyalty
deals with consumer’s sincere loyalty to a brand whereas the definition based on
attitudinal perspective stresses on consumers intention to be loyal to the brand. It is
assumed that consumer understanding of quality is associated with their brand loyalty.
The more loyal a consumer to a brand, the more he/she is presumed to see the brand as
a superior quality. The more favorable association’s consumers have towards a brand,
the more their loyalty. Aaker (2000 2002) classified loyalty as follows:

 Non- customer: buy the brands of competitors.

 Price switcher: sensitive to price.
 Passive loyal: as a result of habit.
 Fence sitters: indifferent between several brands.
 Committed: honestly loyal.

Consumers base brand equity has influence on consumer perception of brand and favourable
perceptions of quality are presumed to be developed by consumers. When they have strong
association and perceived quality of the brand and vice versa, consumers brand awareness is
presumed to be high. Also when they have strong association with the brand and vice versa,
consumer’s perceptions about the quality of a brand are presumed to be high.

3. II HOW BRAND AWARENESS AFFECTS PERCEPTION

The degree to which consumers in the marketplace are familiar with particular brands is brand
awareness. Compared with larger competitors' alternatives, which can be backed by millions
of dollars in advertising, small businesses can find their products at a disadvantage. Working
to build brand awareness is crucial for small business success and brand awareness has a
number of distinct effects on consumers' perception of different brands. Perception of Quality
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Consumers have a tendency to expect higher quality products than generic products or brands
they have not seen before by highly advertised brands. In grocery stores, for example,
consumers are often presented with a mix of options for individual products, ranging from
highly advertised and recognizable brands to generic products. Even if both brands contain the
same ingredients or are manufactured in the same factory grocery store shoppers are likely to
view the higher-priced "name brands" as superior to store brands.

 Presumption of Availability

Creating a psychological association between well-known brands and easy availability, highly
advertised brands are most often widely distributed as well. Brand awareness can cause
consumers to assume they can find a well-known brand in a variety of outlets. Consider the
Budweiser brand and the Baltika brand of alcoholic beverages, for example. Consumers in the
U.S. can safely assume that the highly advertised, highly recognized Budweiser brand can be
bought at virtually any fueling station, liquor store or grocery outlet. Baltika, on the other hand,
can only be found in a select few specialty liquor stores in the United States. Brand Name
Recall Brand awareness is an end goal, but it can also serve as a catalyst for further demand
growth. A consumer can immediately recall several brands, remember several more with a bit
of assistance and fail to recognize many that they have likely seen before, for each product
category. The ultimate goal of brand marketing is to earn a top recall spot in consumers' minds.

3. III THE STAGES OF PERCEPTION IN MARKETING

When a consumer makes initial contact perception establishes the meaning about a product or
brand and it is described as consumer information processing. In receiving brand marketing
communicate messages at this stage all of the senses are engaged. Four distinct stages of
perception occur during consumer information processing: sensation, attention, interpretation
and retention.

 Sensation

Sensation describes what happens when a person's senses are initially exposed to the
external stimulus of a product. Through sight, sound, smell, taste and texture the
sensory receptors of a consumer are engaged by product or brand cues. For example,

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Starbucks engages all the senses in its sensory brand marketing. A customer who enters
a Starbucks coffee shop may hear the sounds and smell the aroma of the grinding of
fresh coffee in the store with background music and a unique store design round out the
experience of the taste of hot or cold coffee and food products that can be enjoyed in-
store at quaint cafe tables.

 Attention

To the external stimulus from a product or brand in consumer information processing,

attention occurs when a person lingers and gives mental processing capacity. Selective
perception is when a consumer pays attention to messages that are consistent with her
attitudes, beliefs and needs. The consumer will withdraw attention when a product is
inconsistent with these factors.

 Interpretation

From a product or brand marketing interpretation occurs when a person assigns a

meaning to the sensory stimulus. Comprehension is aided by expectations and
familiarity. To retrieve previous experiences with the brand or a similar brand a
consumer scans his memory. Stage when product packaging design contains logos,
colors and other elements that are similar to national brands that consumers are
generally more familiar with store-brand marketing frequently capitalizes on the
interpretation.

 Retention

The conclusion of the consumer perception process is the retention stage and it marked
by the storage of product or brand information in short-term and long-term memory.
The information about the product or brand into long-term memory is the marketer's
goal to provide positive stimuli in the proceeding stages that translate into consumers
storing.

3. IV PERCEPTION METHODS IN MARKETING

Marketing will earn sales that builds consumers’ trust. To build a brand image that consumers
will perceive as trustworthy, valuable and suited to their own needs and self-images perception
methods are used in advertisements and promotional tools. As a marketer, the more effective
your methods will be, the more you understand how your prospective customers think.

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Connecting and Comparing Knowledge of your target consumers can reveal the desires,
interests and priorities and designing advertising that speaks to those needs and resonates
emotionally will get consumers’ attention. Consumers have to know how it compares to
competitors and what you’re offering. Tying the emotional benefits of your offer to a price
your consumers can afford feeds a perception that you understand consumers better than
competitors do.

 Demonstrating

By demonstrating solutions marketers get into consumers’ heads. In different settings

and under various circumstances to solve problems and meet needs, creates a perception
of excitement and trust around your product or service, creating traditional or online
advertising that shows people how to use what you offer. For example, beginning in the
1950s Ron Popeil was a pioneer of this marketing method as he built an empire on
kitchen inventions. Through live events, TV commercials and paid infomercials,
primarily by showing people how to use, clean and store his innovative counter-top
appliances Popeil marketed his brand into a trusted household name. Listening and
Relating Marketers get into consumers’ hearts by listening and getting to personally
know your prospective and current customers generates the perception in their minds
that your brand cares about them and wants to help. primarily by showing people how
to use, clean and store his innovative counter-top appliances every time you or your
employees respond to a question or comment from a customer at the counter or a visitor
to your brand’s social media pages, x. Additionally, asking your customers about their
experiences with your brand can show you the perception they have despite your
marketing efforts.

 Aligning and Symbolizing

From influences such as culture, family, peers, economic status, education and
aspirations everyone has a self-image woven together. Presenting a company’s product
or service to reflect an image shared by the prospective customers builds in them the
perception that the brand validates and respects who they are. As a perceived symbol
of their own identities and self-expression people praise your brand to their friends and
colleagues. Online surveys can determine the likelihood that customers will refer your
product or service to a friend, and those who are most likely should have an option to
immediately post their recommendations on social media sites.

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3. V CONSUMER PERCEPTION THEORY

By determining what drives their customers' purchase decisions merchants aim to increase their
sales. Consumer perception explains consumer behavior by analyzing motivations for buying
-- or not buying -- particular items. Three areas of consumer perception theory relate to
consumer perception theory: self-perception, price perception and perception of a benefit to
quality of life. To marketing and advertising consumer perception applies the concept of
sensory perception. Just as sensory perception relates to how humans perceive and process
sensory stimuli through their five senses, consumer perception pertains to how individuals form
opinions about companies and the merchandise they offer through the purchases they make.
To determine how their customers perceive them merchants apply consumer perception theory.
They also use consumer perception theory to develop marketing and advertising strategies
intended to retain current customers -- and attract new ones.

I. Self-Perception

To explain how individuals develop an understanding of the motivations behind their

own behaviour self-perception theory is made. Self-perception by customers relates to
values and motivations that drive buying behaviour. How self-perception shaped
consumers' buying behaviour is addressed by a study done by researchers at the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The study considered the question on issues
such as environmental impact of whether consumers believed their buying decisions
had a real effect. The researchers concluded that in whether or not they placed a priority
on socially conscious purchase and consumption practices consumers' self-perception
was a driving factor. When making buying decisions than consumers who did not hold
similar views of themselves consumers who viewed themselves as socially conscious
tended to place more weight on issues such as environmental impact.

II. Price Perception

Upscale merchants attempt to emphasize quality and value for money to appeal to
potential customers while mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart emphasize low prices
as an inherent virtue. Researchers considered several factors, in determining whether
online shoppers would make repeat purchases through the same website including price
perception -- whether consumers believed they were being charged fair prices. The
researchers concluded that price perception strongly influenced whether the customers

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were satisfied with their purchases and whether they would make future purchases. The
perceived quality of the merchandise and price comparisons with merchants offering
similar merchandise, are the two factors that shaped price perception. Benefit
Perception Many consumers are familiar with the phrase "It's good, and it's good for
you" which is frequently associated with food advertising. To determine how nutrition
claims associated with food affected their perception of that food's nutritional value
researchers from Marquette University, Louisiana State University and the University
of Arkansas surveyed customers. The researchers found that especially concerning high
nutritional value for foods that are traditionally viewed as unhealthy consumers tend to
reject general, unsupported claims of enhanced nutrition. About the foods they purchase
the researchers also theorized that consumers would demonstrate a trend toward
applying more scrutiny to nutrition claims and would demand more specific
information.

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4. CONCLUSION

This research is aim to complete successfully within the time frame so that the result would

accurate and will achieve the research objectives. This research had confirms the significant

positive relationship of peer influence, customer service quality, product quality, promotion

and network coverage to affect the consumers’ perception. It is expected to provide a broader

understanding of service provider on consumer and explore the real factors that affecting the

consumers’ perception in choosing the product. It is also hope that the successful completion

of the survey would have positive impact on organisation strategies in order to grab the

customers and maintain their customer relationship.

If you don’t have much experience with improving consumer perception, you might be feeling

a little overwhelmed right now. Luckily, there are loads of creative agencies which specialize

in building your brand image and improving consumer perception of your company. If you’re

serious about increasing your profits and winning more loyal customers, getting in touch with

the experts makes sense. Take the first step towards a more successful brand, and contact us

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

The researcher has consulted following sources to complete the final draft:

SECONDARY SOURCES:
 BOOKS:
a) Altergott, B. H. Management by objectives for the public schools. 1970.
b) Arvey, R. D., Dewhirst, H. D., & Brown, E. M. Personnel Psychology, 1978, 31,
595-608.
c) Brady, R. M. MBO, Harvard Business Review, 1973, 51, 65-74.
d) Braunstein, D. N., Klein, G. A., & Pachula, M., Journal of Applied Psychology,
1973, 58, 254-258.
e) Carroll, S. J. & Tosi, H. L. Management by objectives: Applications and research.
New York: The Macmilian Co., 1973.
f) Drucker, P. The practice of management. New York: Harper & Row, 1954.K
Among others.

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